The battlefield had gone silent.
Only two men remained standing.
Lord Ackman.
Lord Chad
The other two Lords had already fallen.
Kelvin has been self eliminated
Nerissa had been eliminated by Chad.
Now, the final battle of the Lord's Clash was about to begin.
Ackman stood motionless, his dark Academy Lord cape flowing gently behind him as the wind passed through the ruined battlefield.
Across from him stood Chad.
His eyes were fixed on Ackman.
He held his sword firmly while his dagger rested in the same hand.
Neither man spoke.
Neither man moved.
For several seconds, it seemed as though the entire battlefield had frozen.
The spectators watched in complete silence.
Then—
WHOOSH!
Both men disappeared.
They launched toward each other at the exact same moment.
CLANG!
Their blades collided.
And the battle began.
But there was no magic.
No special technique.
No overwhelming energy.
Just swordsmanship.
Ackman swung his blade horizontally.
Chad ducked beneath it and immediately countered with his sword while bringing his dagger from the opposite direction.
Ackman tilted his body.
CLANG!
He blocked the sword.
CLANG!
He parried the dagger.
Chad twisted his wrist and changed the angle of his sword mid-swing.
Ackman immediately adjusted.
Their blades collided again.
And again.
And again.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
They moved across the battlefield at unbelievable speed.
Ackman fought with the elegance of a master swordsman.
Every movement was precise.
Every strike had purpose.
There was almost no wasted motion.
Chad's style was completely different.
His sword and dagger worked together.
He could attack from two different angles at once, switching between offense and defense almost instantly.
The difference in their styles was obvious.
But their skill was equal.
Neither could overwhelm the other.
The spectators could barely follow them.
In fact—
They couldn't see them at all.
All they could hear were the sounds of steel colliding.
CLANG!
CLANG!
CLANG!
The sound of their swords was the only thing revealing their positions.
Then—
CLANG!
Another collision.
A second later—
BOOM!
Chad appeared behind Ackman.
His sword had struck Ackman's back.
Ackman's feet remained firmly planted on the ground.
But the force pushed him several inches forward.
He stopped.
Slowly, Ackman turned around.
His expression remained calm.
Chad stood several meters away.
Then Ackman raised his sword.
His eyes sharpened.
Suddenly—
SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!
Multiple slashes erupted from the air
Not five.
Not ten.
Dozens.
They tore through the battlefield toward Chad from different angles.
Chad's eyes narrowed.
He raised his sword.
CLANG!
One slash was deflected.
Another came from the side.
CLANG!
Chad blocked it with his dagger.
Another came from above.
He twisted his body and cut through it.
SHING!
More came.
Chad continued defending himself with both blades.
But then—
He disappeared.
FLASH!
Ackman's eyes widened slightly.
Chad had activated his true Soul Swap.
In the blink of an eye—
Their positions switched.
Where Ackman had been standing, Chad now stood.
Where Chad had been standing, Ackman now appeared.
The remaining slashes collided with the area where Chad had originally been.
BOOOOOOM!
A massive explosion erupted.
Dust swallowed the battlefield.
The spectators watched with disbelief
For several seconds, nothing could be seen.
Then the dust began to settle.
Ackman was still standing.
Not a single speck of dust covered his clothes.
He calmly looked toward Chad.
Then he smiled.
A quiet laugh escaped him.
"Hmm."
He looked at Chad.
"So you've decided to show me the true power of your Soul Swap."
Chad remained silent.
Ackman continued.
"For a basic user, Soul Swap is simply a means of escaping danger."
His expression became slightly more interested.
"But for someone who has mastered it…"
He paused.
"…the technique allows its user to switch positions with anyone or anything they choose."
Ackman's eyes narrowed.
"As long as it exists."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"That is exciting."
FLASH!
Ackman disappeared.
He appeared directly beside Chad.
Chad reacted instantly.
CLANG!
His sword blocked Ackman's attack.
Ackman's blade immediately changed direction.
Chad brought his dagger up.
CLANG!
He parried the second attack.
Then—
Chad noticed something.
Moon-shaped slashes had already appeared beside him.
They were almost impossible to detect.
His eyes widened.
WHOOSH!
The slashes rushed toward him.
Chad immediately released Dark Flame.
FWOOSH!
The black flames consumed the incoming attacks.
Some of the moon slashes were destroyed by his blade.
The rest were burned away by Dark Flame.
Chad then kicked off the ground.
He launched himself toward Ackman.
Ackman did the same.
The two collided again.
CLANG!
Their swords crossed.
Then—
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
They entered another brutal exchange of pure swordsmanship.
The battlefield couldn't withstand it.
Every collision sent shockwaves through the ground.
Cracks spread beneath their feet.
Chunks of stone were blasted away.
The ground shattered.
BOOM!
They separated.
Then immediately rushed back toward each other.
CLANG!
They crossed blades.
Chad moved left.
Ackman followed.
Chad spun.
Ackman ducked.
Chad's dagger came from underneath.
Ackman blocked it.
Ackman's sword came from above.
Chad caught it with his own blade.
Neither man gave an inch.
EPIC MUSIC
The battle continued.
They suddenly separated again.
Chad ran toward the right side of the battlefield.
Ackman ran toward the left.
For a brief moment, they looked directly at each other.
Then—
They launched.
BOOM!
Their swords collided.
They passed each other.
Turned.
Launched again.
CLANG!
Again.
CLANG!
Again.
CLANG!
Their movements became nothing more than flashes.
Sword against sword.
Blade against blade.
Skill against skill.
This was no longer a battle of who possessed the greater technique.
They were testing one thing.
Who was the better swordsman?
And after everything they had shown—
There was still no answer.
They were equal.
Neither Chad nor Ackman could overpower the other through swordsmanship alone.
The two men suddenly separated, creating distance between themselves.
Silence returned.
Ackman slowly raised his sword.
The blade began to shine.
The ground beneath him trembled.
Across from him, Chad placed his dagger between his teeth.
He gripped his sword tightly.
Dark Flame began gathering behind his body.
It moved like the exhaust of an enormous engine.
FWOOSH!
The Dark Flame erupted behind him with tremendous force, propelling him forward.
At the same time—
Ackman swung his sword.
A massive cutting slash erupted.
It tore across the battlefield toward Chad.
Chad accelerated forward.
He swung his sword.
BOOOOOOM!
His blade collided with the incoming attack.
The resulting explosion was enormous.
The shockwave spread across the battlefield.
CRACK!
The protective barrier surrounding the spectators shattered.
Everyone froze.
The spectators stared in disbelief.
The force of the collision had reached them.
Bruno, standing beside Great Elder Neil, narrowed his eyes.
"Great Elder…"
Neil remained calm.
Bruno continued.
"I think they're getting close to the fifty-percent limit."
He looked at the battlefield.
"They might even surpass fifty percent if this continues."
Neil's expression remained unchanged.
"I've noticed."
The dust slowly settled.
Chad stood in the middle of the battlefield.
Dark Flames covered his body.
The flames spread across the ground around him.
Almost the entire battlefield had been consumed by black fire.
Across from him—
Ackman stood.
He slowly exhaled.
Mist escaped his mouth.
Then the mist spread.
It covered the battlefield.
Chad's eyes narrowed.
Suddenly—
SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!
Moon slashes emerged from different directions.
They flew toward Chad at blinding speed.
Chad immediately reacted.
His sword moved.
CLANG!
One was destroyed.
Another approached.
Dark Flame consumed it.
Another came from behind.
Chad spun.
SHING!
His blade cut through it.
He burned the remaining slashes with Dark Flame.
Then—
FWOOSH!
Chad released another burst of Dark Flame and launched himself toward Ackman.
Ackman launched toward him as well.
Their swords collided.
CLANG!
The force sent both men flying backward.
They landed several meters apart.
Both stood.
Both breathed heavily.
Both stared at each other.
It felt as though they were preparing for another round.
Ackman slowly raised his sword to the side.
He exhaled.
A stream of mist-like breath escaped his mouth.
Chad raised his sword above his head.
Dark Flame climbed higher and higher from his blade.
The two were preparing to release their attacks.
DARK FLAME…..
MOON MAGIC....
Then—
CRACK.
A strange sound came from beneath the battlefield.
Chad looked down.
Ackman looked down.
Suddenly—
"CRYSTAL MAGIC."
A voice echoed across the battlefield.
BOOOOOOM!
Crystal erupted from the ground.
It spread across the entire battlefield.
It spread toward the spectators.
It surrounded Chad.
It surrounded Ackman.
The two Lords were caught inside the crystallization.
Chad's Dark Flame immediately began to weaken.
His flames flickered.
Then—
They disappeared.
The entire battlefield had been crystallized.
The spectators stood frozen in shock.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
At the center of the battlefield stood one man.
Great Elder Neil.
He had stopped the battle.
And he hadn't even broken a sweat.
Neil stood calmly with both hands folded behind his back.
His expression was relaxed.
He looked at the two crystallized Lords.
Then he laughed briefly.
"I told you two not to surpass fifty percent of your abilities."
His smile remained.
"Still…"
He looked around at the destroyed battlefield.
"…I admit it."
"It was fun watching all of you fight."
The spectators finally began reacting.
"Wow…"
"That was the power of the Lords?"
"They're really strong!"
"I couldn't even see them!"
"That battle was insane!"
Mason stood among the spectators.
But unlike everyone else—
He wasn't looking at the battlefield anymore.
He was staring at his father.
Chad Grace.
His eyes widened.
He had known his father was powerful.
But seeing Chad fight Ackman at that level was something completely different.
Dad…
Mason's hands slowly tightened into fists.
But then his eyes shifted toward Neil.
The entire battlefield had been crystallized.
The spectators had been protected.
Both Lords had been stopped.
And Neil had done it effortlessly.
Mason stared at him.
His expression changed.
So this is the power of the Great Elder…
The strength of Chad and Ackman had already shocked him.
But Neil's power was on another level.
He had controlled the entire battlefield without even showing signs of exhaustion.
Mason smiled.
His two fists slowly tightened.
That's the kind of power I want.
He looked at Neil.
One day…
His smile grew.
I will achieve it.
I will become the Great Elder.
He knew it.
He believed it.
And he would pursue that goal.
Then—
Mason noticed something.
Janelle was looking directly at him.
Mason's smile faded slightly.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
The wind suddenly blew across the battlefield.
Mason's hair moved with it.
Janelle's gown shifted gently in the wind.
The two continued looking at each other.
For a moment—
Everything was silent.
Then the scene faded.
TO BE CONTINUED…